Mesdames et Messieurs, Voilà, C'est Vous

[lesmodsalouette]

Bievenue

You're wrapped in a soothing, all-encompassing darkness.

Well, perhaps not perfectly all-encompassing -- you can see some slivers of light here and there, just enough to realize that your current space is literally wrapped in something, and that you are a highly customized burrito at the mercy of an entirely too fluffy bed and set of blankets. Moreover: you are definitely not alone.

Depending upon the contents of your bed (two of you, waking up dressed exactly in what you wore last you remember back where each of you came from, in the exact same state as those last moments no matter how illogical or disjointed), it may not be comfortable or feasible to stay cocooned up for much longer. There's a low, muted GONG, GONGG coming from not far away, your bed creaks like a beleaguered ship in an unannounced storm, and it is joined by even more noises of movement beyond the bed canopy as you try to take stock of where you are.

Eventually, you either fall out of bed or drag yourself into this world: your new and strangely crowded personal rooms, the clock insistently sounding out the hour, and the halls and heraldry of the venerable Château Ambregris -- a lavishly decorated and fully furnished version of a more-or-less authentic French castle (assuming you know what France or a castle are).

Left to your own devices for the moment, you may find it helpful to explore the castle for your own purposes, check out the suspicious statues and personalized plaques in the Promenade of Reflexion, or perhaps to try to get to the bottom of the mysterious and frankly alarming amount of bread piled up in front of the place settings in the Banquet Hall. (Were you thinking of escaping? Any attempts to leave the property will be met with no forward progress at all, treadmill style). There's just about every kind of loaf, roll, boule, baguette, croissant or even animal-shaped bread you can think of stacked in baskets. There's absolutely nothing else save for plain bread, but at least you won't starve.

[OOC: Welcome to Château Ambregris, a perfectly normal castle receiving perfectly normal guests. Feel free to ask any questions in discord! The NPC Meet & Greet will be later today, March 8 at 6 PM EST/3 PM PST.]

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[simulacres]

Ah.

[ what does she SAY to that ]

W-well, I guess it's good to keep up with your hobbies!

[antline]

It's not....really a hobby.

[He sort of looks...sad.]

But Deputy Head said that it sort of was. Maybe it is.

[distain]

What? [Andrew parrots it, possibly without even meaning to. She pauses to digest the information before nodding in understanding.] Excuse me; I meant no offense.

[Andrew shuts the powder room door again and turns, putting her back to it.]

I don't understand... how did we end up in a place like this? We might get lost before we can even try to escape. [She bypasses the sitting room door to wave toward the entrance of the vestibule instead. It just makes sense for the layout that she's seen so far. They must be in an entryway of some sort.] That should be the one we want.

[antline]

I can see how they're beautiful. I think some look like flowers...people consider flowers to be beautiful.

[He's drifting closer before sitting at the edge of the pool.]

I don't know what you mean.

[whileaway]

[They really are two halves of a whole person omg

… Not that Break has had that revelation. He’s busy being caught up in someone else’s pace at the moment.]

Get to know more about me? A friendly face hiding a desire for interrogation, how forward of you.

[Beyond shifting to get a more steady footing and to bring one long sleeve covered hand up to hover near his mouth, Break doesn’t make any further motions to leave this spot.]

someone else will have to cover those (unless)

[distain]

[Oh! She was given the truth. In that case... She tilts her head to the side.]

My mistake. And you are...?

[A knight...of some sort? They don't even dress like this for ceremonies anymore, do they? Not that she's ever been. That girl was a pretty, but there was nothing of any high-class about her. She didn't even seem like new nobility.]

[uiscebeatha]

[ Sterile? Something about that wording pings Cain as weird but he can't place it. Still, he remains in place, trying to pin his eyes on Hwylryn's. The longer he speaks, the better for him.

(His guard isn't down, not until he figures out who this guy is.)

The invitation earns the dragon a laugh. ]

I'm surprised you've got enough composure to think about swimming, despite all of this.

[ He's almost impressed? ]

Before I decide to go anywhere with you, can I ask you a question?

[uiscebeatha]

—Oh, that thing?

[ Cain pauses. He's definitely seen it. He even looked at it! But... ]

Those were snakes? That wasn't a, y'know...?

[ Ampersand thingy...which he draws with his finger. ]

[snakeblood]

[ Disclaimer: This is just a stylistic representation, he hasn't turned into a freaky snake with arms, okay Cain.

He does a circle with his fingers. ] On the bottom left-hand side, there's a snake head, haven't you noticed?

[uiscebeatha]

[ Another laugh! Also, interesting remark. Cain tucks that observation away as he gently steers them both away from his statue and down the promenade. ]

Aw, c'mon! Don't put it like that! [ He pats Break's shoulder, the one tucked under his armpit, with his other hand. ] We could be friends—er, "allies," if you're more into that—and I always wanna know more about my buddies.

HELP

[uiscebeatha]

[ Since Yoonhee remains firmly human, Cain does not panic and reflexively pick him up and throw him into one of the nearby mirrors.

He frowns at the finger-made diagram. ]

No... Crap. I had no idea.

[ Snake heraldry... His worst nightmare... (not really) ]

Then again, I haven't really looked all too hard at stuff, so...I appreciate your eye, my guy.

[arbalestrier]

[joke's on her, he'd sleep under the bed anyway!! because he's a weirdo...

When she distances herself, Sousuke doesn't pursue. He remains ever vigilant though, watching her every movement closely as he sits up on the bed. There's no reaction to the sarcasm either; it's just him staring her down with his typical frown.]

I wouldn't be asking if I knew. I didn't come here of my own volition.

[snakeblood]

[ Yes, in which he'd definitely be angry enough to try to kill him, so thankfully this isn't the case!

He's being thanked though? Why? He does step back a bit. ]

It's only natural I'd notice something like that. I'm the head of the House of Serpents, after all.

[distain]

[She pauses and inhales, then shakes her head.] No. Though the maker seems to think I'm very spoiled.

[Is the person depicted in that plaque likeable? What would anyone thing?]

I hope whoever did this knows there will be hell to pay when the right person catches them. I could at least thank them for the beautiful statue.

[arbalestrier]

[The pistol is still pointing at Blade, but he doesn't pull the trigger, even if his finger is hovering over it.]

You don't value your life?

[simulacres]

[ that sure is a lot of vague words. ]

Why do you think you like ants, then?

[simulacres]

An eccentric person, probably. Someone with... too much time and money on their hands and no way to use it? It's probably bad news, if you ask me.

[ she looks at one of the clocks, observing it. she's just not the analytical type. maybe if she was, then she would have noticed a lot of things much sooner than she actually did. ]

What's your opinion?

[frostlight]

[Weird!

It's like night and day with this guy. She has enough sense of etiquette by now to give a sharp nod at the formalities.]

He said his magic wasn't working. Spirits can't seem to listen in on this dimension.

[simulacres]

[ thanks kid for absolutely making her feel like an idiot. though she really doesn't react beyond a small sigh, because what they say is just a little strange. an escape room? the term only somewhat rings a bell for her. ]

What would the purpose even be in putting us all in here, then? If they wanted to kidnap us, wouldn't there be better ways to do it?

[frostlight]

[Unfortunately. If only violence were the answer . . . Mortals are so roundabout.]

Is that what you're going to do, then?

[frostlight]

I don't know you, and you don't know me. All we know is ourselves. Where are you supposed to find evidence?

[Hard to fault him for throwing out guesses when they haven't been told anything. She's been doing it, too.]

[frostlight]

Is it?

[This is a time when sensing mana would be helpful, but she can't even do that much anymore. Bah.]

Are you familiar with magic?

[frostlight]

[Sweet Hamel is doing her best.]

They do in some worlds. Maybe yours just doesn't have them anymore.

[frostlight]

[How do this and that add up . . . ]

The only inheritance I have is my power. They won't get that through a ransom.

[Her frown isn't directed at Andrew, but at the audacity of the nobles who might even think such a thing.]

[arbalestrier]

[Sousuke knows better than to take that sort of statement at face value, but given the lack of immediate hostility, he slowly lowers the gun after taking a minute to appraise Junior.]

Who are you?